The Turks & Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA), the Tourist Board and several resorts attended the annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Marketplace in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This much anticipated event spanned over a period of four days, January 15th to January 18th, 2011.
Caribbean Marketplace 2011 had the third largest attendance over the past 10 years with 1,518 delegates as compared to 1,362 in 2010. CHTA Marketplace is one of the most important annual sales and marketing event on the region’s tourism calendar, with the main objective of providing an avenue for suppliers and buyers to conduct negotiations that benefit the entire region. Destinations, airlines, car rental and ground handlers had the opportunity to meet with tour operators and wholesalers to discuss plans for the 2011-2012 season.
President Karen Whitt represented the TCHTA, along with delegates from The Somerset, Amanyara, The Gansevoort, Point Grace, Seven Stars, The Sands, Royal West Indies, Parrot Cay, Ocean Club Resorts, Alexandra Resort & Spa, La Vista Azul, The Regent Palms, Turks and Caicos Club, West Bay Club, and Ralph Higgs, Director of Tourism at the Tourist Board.
Overall the feedback from the wholesalers, tour operators and other industry partners was very positive for the TCI. TCHTA’s President, Karen Whitt was extremely pleased with the outcome of this year’s Marketplace and commented that, “It was a very productive event for us and many of us signed some very lucrative contracts and forged new business relationships. There was a 22% increase in the wholesaler buyer companies and this is a very good indication that interest in vacations to the Caribbean is returning. We look forward to seeing an increase in packages, promotions and ultimately bookings for TCI and the Caribbean on a whole. We definitely had really positive discussions which left us optimistic about the future of our tourism industry.”
Karen also added that, “This year in particular we were able to use Marketplace as an opportunity to further promote the Providenciales International Airport’s expansion project. We highlighted that the expansion of the runway will be completed next year and will allow us to accommodate long-haul aircrafts as large as Boeing 777s. Additionally, we were able to make specific mention of the recently added flights to Providenciales with JetBlue and Continental Airlines coming on board from February 2011.”
